Toy Story 3 (live-action remake)
Toy Story 3 is a 2030 live-action/animated comedy prison film produced by Owen Laramore Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Toy Story 2'', the third installment in the Toy Story reboot franchise, and the 31st theatrical Owen Laramore film. The ensemble cast includes Ben Stiller, Ben Affleck, Anna Faris, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Cate Blanchett, Riz Ahmed, Rob Schrab, Danny Huston, Jim Hanks, and Madison Iseman reprising their roles, with Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Andrew Wilson, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Seth Rogen, and Justin Timberlake joining the cast. As of 2032, it is the only film in the Toy Story reboot series without the participation of Taylor Swift and Alan Tudyk, because Bo Peep does not appear in this film, and Tudyk was considered for the role of Adult Andy, but left the project, and was replaced by Timberlake. The film premiered on Martin Luther, King Jr. Day on January 16, 2030, and was released theatrically across the United States on January 17. It received generally negative reviews, with criticism for its humor, inconsistent tone, 2-hour run, screenplay, overuse of CGI, lack of originality, plot, visual elements, and Harris' casting as Lotso, while Randy Newman's musical score was mostly praised. However, it was a box-office success, earning $335 million on a $170 million budget. A sequel, ''Toy Story 4'', was released on September 23, 2032, which received far more mixed reviews, but was considered an improvement over Toy Story 3. Plot Andy is preparing to leave for college. He has not played with his toys for years, and most have gone. His group of remaining toys consists of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, Hamm, Mouse, the Little Green Men, and three Green Army Men. The despondent toys fear that their future may be their bad end, and the Green Army Men parachute out the window and leave. Andy intends to take Woody to college and puts the toys in a trash bag to take them to the attic; Andy's mom mistakes the bag for trash, and puts in on the curb. The toys avoid the garbage truck and escape to the garage. Believing Andy threw them away, the toys jump into a donation box bound for Sunnyside Daycare with Molly's old doll, Barbie. Woody follows, but is unable to insure them it was a mistake. Andy's mother drives to Sunnyside. At Sunnyside, the toys are greeted by Lots'o Huggin Bear, Ken, Stretch the octopus, Chunk, Sparks, Twitch, and Big Baby. All the toys (except Woody) are delighted to learn that Sunnyside never runs out of children, and Barbie is enamored with Ken. In the Caterpillar Room, Woody tries to explain, but the toys argue with him, saying that Andy is all grown up and doesn't want them anymore. Insulted by the toys' outcry against his wishes, Woody abandons them and tries to fly a kite back to Andy, but falls into a tree, accidentally losing his hat and being found by a Sunnyside student named Bonnie Anderson, who takes him home and plays with him and her toys. After Andy's toys are subjected to a very rough playtime, the toys decide to be in the Butterfly Room. Buzz asks Lotso to transfer them, but his crew switches him to Demo mode, erasing his memory. Mrs. Potato Head spies on Andy with the eye she left behind. Realizing Woody was right, the toys try to leave, but, with help from the now brainwashed Buzz, Lotso and his troopers lock them in jail and rely on "new recruits" to save themselves from the preschoolers' abuse. Meanwhile, Bonnie's toys, Dolly, Mr. Pricklepants, Buttercup, and Trixie, are shocked to hear that Woody made it out of Sunnyside, and Chuckles, a toy clown, explains that he, Lotso, and Big Baby were formerly owned by a girl named Daisy, but were lost during a family trip. When Lotso got back, Daisy had gotten a new toy bear. Since then, Lotso's personality changed; he lied to Chuckles and Big Baby and took over Sunnyside, turning it into a toy prison. Chuckles was later broken, so Bonnie took him home and fixed him up. Woody realizes his friends are in danger because of his selfishness, and regrets everything he's done. Woody returns to Sunnyside and learns from a Chatter telephone that the only way to escape is the trash chute. Woody reunites with his friends, and they plan an escape. Andy's toys intercept Buzz and accidentally reset him to Spanish Mode. Buzz allies himself with Woody and falls in love with Jessie. The toys reach a dumpster, but are cornered by Lotso and his gang. As a garbage truck comes, Woody reveals Lotso's duplicity to the Sunnyside toys, who throw Lotso in the dumpster. The toys try to leave, but Woody is caught by Lotso, who pulls him into the dumpster, and the toys are emptied into a trash compactor. Buzz is hit in the head and returns to normal. At the dump, the toys are swept onto a conveyor belt headed for an incinerator. After escaping a shredder, the toys help Lotso to reach an emergency stop button, but Lotso is still evil, and abandons them. The toys fall into the incinerator and resign themselves to their fate, but the Aliens operate an industrial claw and rescue their friends. Lotso is found by a garbage truck owner. When Woody sees a garbage truck, he recognizes it as the one that goes by Andy's house, and the toys ride the truck home. When they get back home, the toys prepare to be put in the attic. After Woody spies on Andy tearfully saying goodbye to his mom, Molly, and his dog Buster, he realizes things will never be the way they used to be, and leaves a note for Andy, who donates the toys to Bonnie. He introduces them individually to Bonnie, and to his surprise, Woody is in the box, and Bonnie recognizes him. Though hesitant at first, Andy confesses that the thing that makes Woody special is that he will never give up on you, ever. He passes Woody on to Bonnie, and they play together before he leaves. The toys witness Andy's departure and begin their new lives with Bonnie. In the film's epilogue, Barbie, Ken, Big Baby, Stretch, Chunk, Sparks, and Twitch have made vast improvements to Sunnyside and maintain contact with Bonnie's toys through letters. The Green Army Men parachute in and are welcomed to Sunnyside. Cast * Ben Stiller as Woody * Ben Affleck as Buzz Lightyear * Anna Faris as Jessie * Nicholas Lyndhurst as Mr. Potato Head * Cate Blanchett as Mrs. Potato Head * Riz Ahmed as Slinky Dog * Rob Schrab as Rex * Danny Huston as Hamm * Jim Hanks as Mouse * Dee Bradley Baker as Little Green Men * Ed Harris as Lots'o Huggin' Bear * Colin Farrell as Ken * Madison Iseman as Barbie * Justin Timberlake as Andy * Alyvia Alyn Lind as Bonnie * Viola Davis as Stretch the Octopus * Chris Hemsworth as Chunk * Daniel Henney as Sparks * Ike Barinholtz as Twitch * Woody Smith as Big Baby (archive recordings) * Andrew Wilson as Mr. Pricklepants * Nicki Minaj as Trixie * Jennifer Lopez as Dolly * Seth Rogen as Buttercup * Kevin McNally as Chuckles * Troy Baker as Sarge * Kate Hudson as Andy's mom * Emily Blunt as Bonnie's mom * Noah Schnapp as Young Andy (archive recordings) * Brooklynn Prince as Molly * Frank Welker as Bullseye/Buster/Monkey * Gary Marsh as Bookworm * Javier Fernandez Pena as Spanish Buzz (archive recordings) * Tara Strong as Peas-In-A-Pod * Roger Craig Smith as Chatter Telephone Production Development In 2027, Owen Laramore Entertainment was revealed to be making a reboot of Toy Story 3, with Halvorson returning to direct. The team made replicas of Bonnie's house and Sunnyside Daycare and gather a bunch of toddlers to create the "Rough Play" sequence. The team also made a playground and painted the walls to make it look real for the film. Visual elements involving incinerator fire drew some criticism. Casting Ben Stiller, Ben Affleck, and Anna Faris were some of the actors returning. Alan Tudyk did not make the cut. Bo Peep was written out of the film because Taylor Swift had a conflict with new songs. Lotso was revealed to be voiced by Ed Harris, whose performance drew the most criticism. Colin Farrell, Seth Rogen, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Andrew Wilson, and Alyvia Alyn Lind joined the cast as Ken, Buttercup, Dolly, Trixie, Mr. Pricklepants, and Bonnie. Justin Timberlake played adult Andy. Music Randy Newman composed the music for the film. Newman returned from the first two films, and his musical score was praised by the critics. Reception Box office The film grossed $150 million in the United States and Canada, and $185 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $335 million. It ended its theatrical run on April 11, 2030, in order to avoid competing with Owen Laramore Entertainment's next theatrical movie, ''Disney In The House 4''. Critical response The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. The film has an approval rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus reads, "With both an incoherent narrative and a technique of using too much CGI, Toy Story 3 fails to meet charm". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a score of 23% and a 20% "definite recommend". Ella Taylor of NPR ''gave the film a negative review, saying, "The studio's live-action or photorealistic streak mostly got out of hand when they created the formulaic ''Toy Story 2 remake. It has worsened itself with the even more awful Toy Story 3 remake". Anthony Lane of New Yorker gave the film one star and panned Ed Harris' performance of Lots'o Huggin' Bear. He wrote, "The Lotso voiced by Ned Beatty was more appealing with a good accent in the original film, but in the remake, he's clearly a doofus played by Ed Harris". Critics heavily criticized the G rating and the replica of Sunnyside Daycare. Lane wrote, "Chuckles the Clown is right. Sunnyside is, in fact, a much of a toy's worse nightmare that I'd rather draw a picture of my family than spend nearly 100 minutes at SunnySide Daycare". Stephen Holden of The New York Times panned the film, saying, "With a two-hour running time, this rehashed third installment of a reboot series can be nothing but a complete waste of time; I would not want to waste tickets to see this movie. Like 2023's Toys To Life 2, Toy Story 3 is a unfunny misfire. I'm disappointed in Owen Laramore Entertainment for making such a bad movie with such a series of underwhelming visual elements".